Apparatus for figuring watch-dials



(No Model.)

T. F. PROCTOR. APPARATUS POR FXGURING WATCH DIALS. No. 310,313. PatentedJan. 6, 1885.

WIT A155555 INVENTUR i 22V? /Om/Z Twma/d fProc Z907? /QQ I Z3 "matter orpigment has been applied to the sur- Yproper position, the dial havingbeen pre- NiTnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS F. PROCTOR, OF VVALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR FIGURING WATCH-DIALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,313, dated January6, 1885.

Application filed December 27, 1832. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, THOMAS F. Pnooron, of Waltham, county of Middlesex,State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Apparatus forFiguring VVatch-Dials, of which the following description, in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a specitication, like letters von thedrawings representing like parts.

My invention relates to an apparatus for applying the igures or othermarks or decorations to watchdials, and has for its object to enable thesaid igures to be applied with greater accuracy and rapidity than whendone by the ordinary method.

Heretofore in figuring dials the coloring i'ace, and after it hashardened somewhat the superiluous portions have been cut orscraped away,leaving only the desired lines, by means of a tool manipulated by theoperator, and guided by a straightedge held by the hand in vionslyspaced around. The figuring thus depends upon the accuracy of the eyeand steadiness of hand of the operator, and the dial is usuallypreviously marked or spaced off by pencil-marks to assist in guiding theoperator.

My invention consists in providing the usual bed-plate and turn-tablefor holding the dial while being operated upon with a toolguiding deviceor straight-edge and means to mechanically hold it in the properrelation to the dial for cutting each of the strokes of all thedifferent figures, as for deining other marks or decorations on thedial. As herein shown, the straight-edge is pivoted at one end upon thebed in such position that its edge may be swung across the face of thedial, it normally standing nearly diametrically across it. The saidstraight-edge is providedwith, preferably, two pins, to entercorresponding sockets in a plate connected with or forming a part of.the turn-table, the said sockets being properly located to hold thesaid straight-edge in proper position for each stroke of each fig ure ofthe dial. The said pins are shown as acted upon by springs which throwthem down into the sockets in the said plate, and a pin-lifting deviceis employed for withdrawing the said pins when the straight-edge orturn-table is to be moved. The holding-pins are sufficient to determinethe relative position of the straight-edge and turn-table, with the dialthereon; but for greater convenience in manipulation the turn-table isprovided with a controlling-plate having a notched periphery, and a stopor holding device co-opcrates with the said plate to arrest it in itsrotary movement when in proper position to have a line cut. y A cam,also carried by the turn-table, controls the lateral movement of thestraight-edge relative to the dial, so that by merely rotating theturntable from one position to the next the straightedge or toolguidewill be placed in the proper position and securely held there while thedial is being operated upon.

Figure 1 is a plan view of an apparatus for figuring watch-dialsembodying this invention; Fig. 2, a side elevation thereof; Fig. 3, avertical section of the turn-tableand parts connected therewith, andFig. 4 a plan view ofthe cam for controlling the position of thetool-guide detached.

The bed a, of suitable form, has pivoted upon it the turn-table b,provided with a regulating-plate, c, having a notched periphery to beengaged by the spring-holder d, by which it is held in certain definitepositions and turned through a delinite angle each time it is moved to anew position. The dial e to be operated upon, previously provided withthe coloring-matter, as shown by the dotted lines at f, may be mountedupon the said turn-table or plate c in any suitable or `usual manner,preferably as described in a former application lfor Letters Patentfiled by me November 13, 1882, the said turn-table carrying adialholding plate, g, provided with sockets g', to receive the feet orpins by which the dial is to be subsequently attached to the plate ofthe watch. The dial is thus held in a denite position on the turn-table,having a deiinite relation tothe position it is to occupy in the watch,so that the iigures or decorations will be in the proper position whenthe dial is mounted on the watch-works and the latter placed in thecase. In finishing the guring or decorations the superiiuouscoloring-matter is removed to leave the strokes of the figures by acutter or scrapingtool guided by a ICO straight-edge, 71, which in thepresent invention is pivotally connected with the bed-plate a at thepivot-block fi, and is supported by a. guide, k, at the proper distanceabove the dial, the said guide and pivot permitting' the straight-edgeto be moved across the dial to any desired position, its free end beingpreferably provided with a foot, m, resting upon the plate c. The dialis turned, with the plate Gand turn-table,to the proper position foreach number to be cut, and is held in such position by thespring-holding device d, and in order to automatically place thestraight-edge in exactly the right posit-ion 'formaking each strokeofthe cutting-toolV the turn-table b is provided with a controlling-cam,b', co-operating with an arm, h', connected with the straight-edge 71pressed by a spring, h2, against t-he said cam, which thus determinesthe position of the straight-edge relative to the dial as the latter isrotated with the turn-table to each new position determined by thenotches in the periphery ofthe plate c. rlhe surface ofthe cam ispreferablyprovided with recesses corresponding` in position to thenotches of the plate c, so that it alone might determine the amount ofrotation of the turn-table and hold it in its diiferent positions inaddition, to determine the angular position of the straightedge.

In order to hold the straight-edge with the utmost rigidity, it islocked in engagement with the said plate c and turn-table by an engagingor locking device, shown as consisting of the pins n a, pressed downwardby springs o, so that they will drop into the sockets p, made in theplate c, when brought in line therewith in the movement of thestraightedge across the dial, caused by the spring hi and cam b. Thesoeketsp are so located as to hold the straight-edge in the properposition for the different strokes of the cutter, so that they may bemade with accuracy and are not dependent upon the judgment oi' theoperator, nor upon the correctness of his eye.

In order to enable the engaging-pi ns n a to be quickly removed fromtheir sockets,so that the straight-edge may be moved from one positionVto another with small expenditure of time, a pin-lifting device isemployed, consisting of a slide, r, having cams or inclines r at itsends, passing through openings in the pins a a, so that by its movementin the direction oi' the arrow, Fig. 2, it lifts both the pinssimultaneously. The said slide is provided with a handle, t, and isacted upon by a spring, a, which tends to keep it in the proper positionto allow the pins to drop into their sockets. The said spring a restsagainst a projection, t', on the straight-edge, and the slide a' isslotted, as at r2, embracing the said spring and the projection o, andbeing thus partially guided thereby. The notches on the plate c and theholes therein are marked to correspond with the figures they are toproduce, the letter X or V being used when the heavy stroke of a letterX or V is to be produced.

The apparatus is shown in Fig. l as set in position to make the igureland two straight marks of figure 7, the notch marked l 7 ofthe plate cbeing engaged by the holding device d, the recess marked l 7 on the camb (see Fig. 4) receiving the roller at the end of arm h, and the pins na being in the sockets bearing the same mark in the plate c, the socketsfor the former pin being nearer its periphery, while those for the pin aare nearer the center. After the ligure l and straight marks of figure 7have been made,as shown, the slide o' is operated by pressing the handlet toward the handle c, raising the pins from their holding-sockets, andthe plate is rot-ated, preferably in the direction of the hands of awatch, until the notch-mark 6 of the plate c receives the roller ot' theholding device d. The straightedge will then be thrown by the spring h2and cam b in position for the pins n, n to drop in the .sockets marked6, and will i be in proper position to cutthe straight mark of thefigure (i.

It will be seen that the -V portion of the gure 7 is covered andprotected by the straight-edge while cutting the straight marks in likemanner, or when the parts are brought in proper position to cut the V ofthe ligure 7 the straight mar is thereof will be beneath thestraight-edge,` and the same is true for the other figures of likecharacter.

For different dials, or for different styles of iigurin g, thecontrolling-plate @with its notches and pin-sockets, and the cam b',will have to be varied, and the said plate and cam are shown asdetachable from the turn-table b, they being held in proper positionthereon by pins and screws, as shown vin Fig. 3, so that they can beeasily removed and 'others substituted.

It is obvious that the parts ZJ, b, c, and g (shown in Fig. 3) might allbe made in a single piece, but as the shape of the part b and thenotching and boring of the part c have to be varied it is moreconvenientto make them in separate pieces, as shown.

It is obvious that one of the pins n a and the corresponding series ofsockets might be omitted, or that when two are used they will besuflicient to determine the relative position of the straight-edgeturn-table, so that the cam I) and the holding device d might beomitted, the operator merely tnrnin g the turntable with one hand andmoving the straight` edge across it until the pins drop into the propersockets. It is also evident that the pins might be wholly omitted, theposition of the straight-edge being determined,and it being held by thecam b and spring h. It is preferable, however, to employ all the devicesas shown for thus determining with greater accuracy the movements of thecutting-tool.

It will be understood that a guide of this kind having its positionmechanically fixed IOO IIO

with relation to thc dial might be employed for otherimplem en ts thanscrapin g-tools, such, i'or instance, as iine brushes, by which the iinemarks ofthe Xs and Vsare applied,and that the guiding-edge ofthetool-guiding device li is not necessarily straight, as it might be emwployed for producing other work than the iiguring, such as variousornamental designs upon the face of the dial.

Instead of having the straight-edge move laterally across the bed-plate,the dial having its center of rotation fixed relativeeto the saidbed-plate, it will be seen that the straightedge might have any later almovement, while the turn-table might be pivoted in a carriage or on anarm to slide or spring bodily transversely to the said straight-edge,its lateral movement being then guided, if desired, by a cam similar tothe one b co operating with a stud iixed upon the bed-plate. rlhisconstruction is equivalent to that herein de scribed, and will bespecifically claimed in another application in connection with othernovel features.

It will be seen that by the hercin-descrihed apparatus, in connectionwith a method and apparatus for applying coloringmatter, the entireprocess of iiguring the dials may be performed without using guide-marksupon the face of the dial, having to be subsequently erased, and that agreat saving in time is thus eliected, while equally good work can beaccomplished with less experience and skill ou the part of the operator,and no dials are damaged in the process of iiguring them or decoratingtheir surfaces.

In Letters Patent granted to me July ll, 1882, I have described anapparatus in which the tool itself is mechanically moved and guided indelinite relation to the dial.

In the present application the tool is intended to be manipulated by thehand of the operator; but the guide for it has-its positionautomatically determined, and is mechanically held while the tool isbeing opera-ted.

I claim l. In an apparatus for figuring or decorating dials, theturn-table adapted to be moved through deiiuite predetermined angles,and means to hold the dials in definite position thereon, combined witha tool-guiding device for a hand-operated tool, and the connectingmechanism between the said turn-table and guiding device, whereby thelatter is held in different deiinite positions corresponding with thedifferent positions to which the turn-table is moved, substantially asand for the purpose described.

2. The turntable and controlling'disk provided with pin-sockets,combined with the tool-guiding device, spring-pressed pinsthereon toenter the said sockets, and pin-lifting device, substantially asdescribed.

3. The turn table, combined with the straight-edge, provided withspring-pressed pins, and the spring-pressed slide having incliues foroperating the said pins, substantially as described.

4. The turntable, and means, substantially as set forth, to hold a dialin deinite position thereon, and a tool-guiding device, combined with acani, whereby the relative position of the said turn-table andtool-guiding device is determined, substantially as described.

5. The rotating dialholding table b and disk c, connected therewith,having a notched periphery, combined with the cam b', connected with thesaid table, substantially as described.

6. The turntable and controlling-disk provided with pin-sockets,combined with the movable tool-guiding device and pins connectedtherewith co-operating with the said pin-sockets, whereby the saidguiding device is 'locked indefinite positions with relation to theturn-table, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my mame to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

THOS. F. PROCTOR.

ifitnesses:

Jos. P. Livnnrronn.

Bannion J. Novias.

